352: Chris Lohring of Notch Wants You to Brew More Distinctive Lager

Notch founder Chris Lohring loves the fact that more craft brewers are embracing lagers—but he has some strong opinions about the best way to brew them. “‘Crispy boys’ don’t exist,” he says. “Lagers aren’t dry. Clean lager yeast is boring to me.” Refinement and distinction are his goals, not minimalism, and he and his team use all the tools in the brewer’s toolbox to achieve them—such as adjusting mash schedules and malt bills to build body in low-ABV beers; moving lager mid-fermentation from quasi-open fermentors to conicals before later moving to horizontal tanks; reducing and timing decoctions to fit the goals of individual beers; and considering the impact of mash rests on fermentability, among many other things. It’s not one thing, after all, that makes a lager distinct—in his words, “there’s no magic bullet.” In this episode, Lohring discusses: why Czech pale lager is a category, not a style how variable processes in the cellar lead to different expressions of diacetyl manipulating a mash schedule to build body and character with more expressive lager yeasts what decoctions do and don’t do for lagers using small percentages of crystal malt in Czech-style pale lagers fermenting with no head pressure, and skimming to optimize flavor and hop character the difference between černé pivo and tmavé pivo using American hops in Czech-style lager And more. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers ( https://gdchillers.com ) : At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller! ProBrew ( https://www.probrew.com ) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at contactus@probrew.com to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.” Old Orchard ( https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer ) : Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer Omega Yeast ( https://omegayeast.com ) : Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com. ABS Commercial ( https://abs-commercial.com ) . ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at sales@abs-commercial.com to discuss your customized brewery needs. Ss Brewtech ( https://SsBrewtech.com ) . Ss Brewtech was founded by a group of home and craft beer brewers, dedicated to bringing an engineering-first approach to brewery equipment. Ss brewhouses are used to formulate new beer recipes at some of the world's greatest breweries. To learn more, head over to SsBrewtech.com US Water Systems ( https://uswatersystems.com ) : Depending upon the city and day, water quality can vary 40% to 50%. The best method is to start with the same water every time and Reverse Osmosis gives you that power. Visit USWaterSystems.com for a free expert analysis. Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast ( https://spiritsanddistilling.com/podcasts/ ) : If you’re a distiller or curious about it, check out the Craft Spirits & Distilling podcast. Click on the link and subscribe from your favorite podcast platform. Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast